Ship&#39;s hull and other iron or steel vessel or container



Feb. 20, 1923. 1,446,274.

P. ROBERTS. Y SHIPS HULL AND OTHER IRON 0R STEEL VESSEL 0R CONTA-WER.

FILED .IULYl-, 14921. 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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P. ROBERTS.

SIIIPS HULL AND OTHER IRON 0R STEEL VESSEL OR CONTAINER.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FILED JULYIZ, 1921.

FIGIO.

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PERCY ROBERTS, OF SURBITONQ ENGLAND, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-HALF G. D. PETERS & COMPANY, LMITED, OF SLOUGH, BUCKING-HAJl/I, ENGLAAND.

SHIPS HULL .AND OTHER IEON OR STEEL VESSEL 0R CONTAINER.

application ineav July 12, 1921. serial No. 484,131.

To all whom t may] crm-cern.'

Be it known. that '1, Pintor Ronnn'rs, a .subject of the King of Great Britain and reland, residing at Surbiton, in the county of Surrey, England (whose post-otlice address is 28 Adelaide Road, Surbiton, in the "county of Surrey, England), have invented cert-ain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Ships Hulls and Other Iron or Steel Vessels or Containers; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersI skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has for its object improvements in or relating to ships hulls and other iron or steel vessels or containers, for in stance boilers, tanks and the like, whereby increased strength and rigidity are obtained due to the plates of which the hull7 or the like, is built up being practically formed as one piece due to the improved method of locking and'welding the plates together according to this invention. By means of the invention fewer inside frames yor stii'ening members willv be required in a ships hull with a resulting increase in cargo space and reduction in weight of the vessel whereby more cargo can be carried on a given draught. Reduction in weight of the vessel also obtains by reason of the fact that there is no overlap of the plates. Further the outside of the hull constructed according to this invention p-resents a smooth surface, being free from overlapping joints, with the result that skin friction is reduced and economy in'` power and fuel consumption obtained; also corrosion cannot set up between plates as may happen with overlapping plates.

According to this invention the plates of which a ships hull, or other vessel or container, is formed are, in addition to beingsecured together by being welded to each other along their edges, locked together by suitably shaped members or plates inserted in correspondingly shaped apertures or 'added or run in by the welding operation by which the plates are welded together,

and the loc-king members being of s'uch coniguration that the apertures are free from' any sharp angles that might tend to produce weakening cracks in the metal plates. The Welding may be done by the Oxy-acetylene, electric or other suitable method of welding. The aforesaid apertures in the plates for receiving the locking members may have approximately the shape of the figure 8, or may be of other suitable shape. The plates are placed edge to edge and butt welded along theiredges, these edges are suitably shaped or bevelled to provide a bed for the welding metal.

'ln one embodiment of the invention a suitable number of locking apertures of such formation as not to possess sharp angles and each forming one half of a complete locking aperture, is vformed in each plate these apertures being so situated that the),r break orJvopen Athrough the adjacent edges of the plates so that when the plates are placed edge to edge the openings register and the complete locking aperture is thus formed.

The hereinbefore mentioned lockingpieces or members'may be stamped out of plate of the same thickness as that of the plates forming the hull, or these locking pieces may be drop forgings and, further may be formed as projections from a base portion. plate or flange which may be of a size suitably larger than the locking pieces and the holes in which theyfit so that the said base portion will overlap to a desired extentY and lie on the inside of the hull plate or plates thus giving increased st'iness or strength to the hull plates.

In constructing a ships hull the plates may be spot welded or they may be rivetted tothe frames, and thehereinbefore mentioned locking apertures or holes may then cutting appliance.

be'formed in the plates by means of thev Welded together instead otproviding lock-..

ing holes or apertures .in the plates and welding locking pieces therein as above mentioned, the plates may be formed with curved angular dovetail orother'suitably shaped recesses in one edge and correspondingly shaped projections on the opposite edge so that when the plates are assembled the projections on one plate will enter the recesses in the next plate, these projections and recesses having their edges bevelled so as to forma recess or bed for the Welding metal by which the projections on one plate are 'Welded to the next plate.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings, and will now be dcscribed with reference thereto.l

Fig. 1 shows two portions ot plate joined Y together according to the invention. ,A

ig. 2 is a section corresponding to the line A, A of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows in side elevation one of the locking pieces..

Fig. 4 shows an edge portion oi one of the plates.

Fig. 5 is a section corresponding to the line B B of Fig. 4.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sections corresponding to the line C C, D D, and E E respectively of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 illustrates a section on the line F F of 'Fig'. 1 assuming that the plates to be joined were curved instead of straight.

Fig. 1() is a similar view to'Fig. 1 illustrating modifications in the shape of the locking pieces.

Fig. 11 is also a similar view to Fig. 1 illustrating a further modication. l

Fig. 12 is a section corresponding to the line G G of Fig. 11.

Fig. y13 is another view similar teFig. 1, illustrating a further -modiiicatiorn and,

Fig. 14 is a section corresponding to the line Hv H of Fig. 13'.

' Fig. 1 shows two portions of plate 1 and 2te be joined by being welded c at 3 along their abutting edges and by locking .pieces 4, taking into apertures 5, punched or otherwise formed in the plates 1 and 2, and

welded at 6to said plates. The locking p1ece 4 shewn at J in Fig. 1 has rounded ends connected by curved side portions so that vas will be seen there is not any sharp angle from which a crack along the plate might spring. Fig. 2 shows a section taken on the line Ar- 14, 1. of the plates 1 and 2y and locking piece 4, after being welded. A por- 'tion' of theJ plate 1 with a v5 Or these locking holes row'fid'ed-f in one edgeis shewn in igs. 4an .5. The 'A edges of each 'plate and of the apertures` are bevelled as shewn at 1.-, 5*", respectively',v and the edges of the locking pieces are also bevelled as shewn at'4, ig. 3, so that when the plates and locking pieces are as sembled a bed or channel is ormed t'o receive the metal added by the `welding operation. It. will be'seen that plates joined as described present a smooth surface on each side, being free from overlapping joints or protuberances.

In an alternative embodiment of the in vention shewn at K in Fig. 1, the locking piece or member 4 may be a forging .ot'a greater thickness than the plates 1 and 2 te be'joined and be so former that vat one side (which willr at the inner wside oi the structure inth'e case of aships hull) said locking member has a portion orviange T `and said flange 7 is welded around its edges to said plates 1 and 2 as indicated at 8 in 9G Fig. 6, which figure is a section on the line C-C, Fig. 1, after the welding operation hasbeen performed.

Instead of the plates l and 2 having apertures formed in their abutting edges holes may be punched or drilled adjacent said edges each hole to receive a projection 9 on a base plate 10, as shown at L in Fig. 1. The edges oi' the` holes and the projections 9 are bevelled so that `a `channel or bed is 100 formed in each case to receive the metal added in the welding operation. ln addition to the projections 9 being welded to the plates (as indicated at 11, Fig. '7),the

base plate is welded around its edges to the v plates 1 and 2 as indicated at 12 in Fig. i', which latter figure is a section on the line D--D, Fig. 1 after the welding has takenplace. j,

ln some cases the base plate 1() of each 110 locking member has formed on it six projections 9, as shewn at M, Fig. 1, threeoi which take into holes in plate 1 and three into holes in plate 2, this construction givy ing even greater strength and rigidity at the joints of plates. A

ln Fig. 1, the plates 1 and 2 are shewn as flat plates, but the invention is equally applicable to joining curved plates as `used in boiler and tank construction, and in the joining of such plates any 4of the locking pieces previously described may be employed, ora combination of such locking pieces may be employed as illustrated at N in- Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a section on the line 125 F-F, of Fig. 1 except that curved plates 1-and 2'are shewn and the'base plate 10 is curved to correspond to the curved platesy to be joined. Four bevelled projections 9 are shewn on :che plate 10, two adapted to take into holes in one plate and two into holesy in the other, and said plates, base plate and projections, as well as the abutting edges ot' the plates l and 2, are welded as already described. ln addition apertures j are formed in the edges'( f the plates l and Q to receive a bevelled locking piece 4 ot' similar form to that shewn in Figs. 1 and 'but curved as required to suit the curvature ot' the plates and being also welded to the plates as before described.

The locking pieces 4 may be oi' any suitable shape such as will hold the plates against strains tending to move them apart in the planes in which they lie, and such as not to present any sharp angles liable to lead to it'ractures in the plates. A number ot' shapes they might take is illustrated, more or less liagrammatically, in Fig. 10, whether or not the locking pieces have flanges adapted to overlap the plates around the recesses in their edges. It may in some cases be considered preferable to form the locking pieces of substantially the shape shown at the extreme left of Fig. l0, as owing to the formation ot' the Acentral portion of the locking piece (i. e., the provisions of the outwardly projecting portions 4b) the angles or corners formed by cutting out the apertures 5, and marked 5b in Fig.v 4, will be rendered much less sharp.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated by Figs. 11 to 14, inclusive, in

-which instead of employing locking members Jformed separately from the plates td be joined the locking members are integral therewith, said plates having their edges so formed that interlocking projections 13 and recesses 14 are provided.. Where the plates to be joined are relatively long and narrow and are to be joined end to end they .may be formed at their ends as shewn in Fig. 11, theabutting end edges being bevelled so that a bed or channel is provided to receive the metal employed in the welding process. Fig. 12 is a section on line G-G, Fig. 11, but showing the plates after being welded. `If it should be desired to join relatively long edges of the plates together this may be done, according to this embodiment of the invention, by forming the plates at their edge regions as shewn in Fig. 13 so that projections 13 and recesses 14 alternate along the edge ofeach plate the parts interlocking when placed together. Fig. 14 is a section on the line H-H, Fig. 13, taken after the plates have'been Welded together.

Although in the embodiments of the invent-ion illustrated in the drawings the abutting edges of the plates to be joined, and also the edges of the plates at the apertures and the edges of the locking pieces,

are in every case shown bevelled, it will be understood that, if desired; the edge of one ranged edges to edge and adapted to be welded together at adjacent edges, locking members each comprising a base portion adapted to lie across the joint between and to be welded to such plates and having means projecting from the base portion adapted to enter apertures in, and to be welded to, said plates.

2.v For use in the construction of ships7 hulls and other iron or steel vessels or containers and in combination with plates arranged edge to edge and adapted to be welded together at adjacent edges, locking members each comprising a base portion adapted to lie across the joint between and to be welded to such plates and having a plurality of projections on the base portion adapted toenter apertures in the' plates adjacent the edges thereof and to be Welded to said plates.

3. In the construction of ships hulls and other iron or steel vessels or containers, the

combination of plates adapted to be arranged other iron or steel vessels or containers, the

combination of plates adapted to be arranged edge toedge and to bepwelded to-v gether at their edges and having apertures in them adjacent their edges, and locking members each comprising a base portion adapted to lie across the joint between and to be welded to the said plates. and a plurality of projections on the base portion adapted toenter the apertures in, and to be welded to, said plates, for the purposes set forth.

5. In the construction of ships hulls and other iron or steel vessels or containers, the combination of plates adapted to be arranged edge to edge and to be welded together at their edges and having registering said aperture, a locking member at each group of holes and apertures and comprisjouit betweenV and be weided to the plates .andphaving'a plurality of projectlons d to lie across the vin and be welded to the said pilates, vfor the said purposes set forth.

In testimon whereof I aix my signature,

on the base portion adapted to enter the in presence o two witnesses. y

appropriate `holes-in and. to be welded to PERCY ROBERTS.

the'sald plates, and a locking 'member 9f the Witnesses,

same -.th1ckness ais the plates to be joined D. H. TINsoN,

adapted to enter th'e` registering apertures W. H. LEwERs. 

